Association between depressed mood and poor quality of life in male patients with chronic renal failure submitted to hemodialysis

Objective: To assess mood and quality of life (QOL) in male hemodialysis patients, and to correlate mood swings with the different domains of the QOL questionnaire. Methods: Forty-seven male patients, with an average age of 39.4 ± 8.9 years, undergoing chronic hemodialysis for more than six months, were included in the study. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and the Kidney Disease Quality of Life Questionnaire (KDQOL-SFTM), in a version translated and adapted to Portuguese, were used. Results: Depression was observed in thirty-two (68.1%) patients according to the Hamilton Rating Scale. A significant negative correlation was found between the results from the HRSD and the following parameters of the specific dimensions of the KDQOL-SF™: list of symptoms and problems (rs = -0.399; p = 0.005), quality of social interaction (rs = -0.433; p = 0.002), and sleep (rs = -0.585; p < 0.001). Among the generic domains, mood showed a significant negative correlation with general health (rs = -0.475; p < 0.001), emotional well-being (rs = -0.354; p = 0.01), social function and energy/fatigue (rs = -0.518; p < 0.001). The other parameters of the KDQOL-SF™ did not show significant correlations with the HRSD. Conclusion: Mood showed a negative correlation with the various scores of QOL assessed by the KDQOL-SFTM, suggesting a possible influence of mood in the QOL of chronic renal patients undergoing hemodialysis.